The Detroit Lions have announced its schedule for training camp practices open to the public.

Starting Monday, July 29, fans are invited to attend practice at the team's facility in Allen Park. In total, the public will have access to eight practices.

Additionally, the Lions have reserved July 26-28 for season ticket holders, suite holders and club seat members. Those groups must pre-register to attend those practices. Invitations with registration instructions and training camp schedule information have been distributed to account holders.

The Lions can accommodate up to 1,500 fans per day. Access is on a first-come, first-serve basis. Gates open 30 minutes prior to each practice session. The sessions are only open if the team practices outdoors. If weather forces practice indoors, those sessions will be closed to the public.

Making the Leap, No. 11: Detroit Lions DT Nick FairleyBy Kevin Patra NFL.comPublished: July 22, 2013 at 12:56 p.m. Updated: July 22, 2013 at 04:20 p.m.Around The League will profile the top 40 players we see Making the Leap in 2013. No. 11 on the list: Detroit Lions defensive tackle Nick Fairley.

Why Fairley is on the listFor a brief moment in time, Nick Fairely's name was whispered as a potential candidate for No. 1 overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft. Instead, the Auburn product slid to the Detroit Lions at No. 13.

It's not difficult to see why some thought he could be drafted so high. The 6-foot-4, 298 pound defensive tackle's physical attributes jump off the screen during a film session. The 25-year-old has a rare combination of debilitating power and deft quickness. His burst off the ball can be breathtaking and when single-blocked last season he regularly beat the offensive player off the ball and wreaked havoc in the backfield -- especially when down-blocked by the center

It's somewhat surprising that a defensive tackle entering his third season can be so diversified in his rushing skill set. While his brute strength is his biggest assets, as the video above displays, Fairley's nimble feet and good hands allow him to dominate one-on-one matchups.

I will argue that Fairley actually is better than his counterpart, Ndamukong Suh, at diagnosing screens and run plays at this stage in their careers. The video to the right illustrates every aspect of Fairley's potential. He comes off the ball with leverage, tosses the blocking guard aside with ease and wraps up Adrian Peterson, only the most difficult running back to bring down in the NFL.

ObstaclesFairley's health concerns always are referenced first when discussing his upward trajectory. The third-year pro missed nine games in his first two seasons -- six after undergoing foot surgery before his rookie season and the final three games last season after suffering a shoulder injury. If you believe Warren Sapp, Fairley's "little legs" never will allow him to function at 100 percent for a season.

As far as his on-field play, Fairley must cut down on the penalties. He plays too close to the football for the bevy of offside penalties he committed last year, and he needs to cut out the boneheaded personal fouls -- although if the video to the right is evidence, perhaps he's learning to not body slam Aaron Rodgers.

Fairley also needs to become more consistent. He has the motor to run down plays when he gets the scent of pigskin -- or quarterback -- in his nostrils, but he gets washed out of plays far too often for a dominant tackle. Fairley's biggest obstacle, as with most players making the leap, will be taking what he does extraordinarily and extrapolating it through an entire game.

2013 ExpectationsWe know Fairley's expectations for his team and his defensive tackle tandem: Super Bowl; best duo in the NFL.

The former might be a stretch, but the latter is wholly attainable, if not already true.

I'm not as worried about the injury concerns as some -- I contend that if the Lions were in the playoff hunt last season we wouldn't have seen him on injured reserve.

Fairley's final six games of 2012 are the best indicator of his expectations in 2013. He averaged 4.33 tackles and 0.67 sacks per game from Week 9 to Week 14. Those averages for an entire season would equate to 69 tackles and 10.5 sacks. If he even sniffs those numbers he will make his first career Pro Bowl.

Here are a few notes and observations from Detroit Lions training camp practice on Friday.

•Lions coach Jim Schwartz said the team is looking for a playmaker at wide receiver beyond Calvin Johnson, Nate Burleson and Ryan Broyles. Kris Durham made sure to make an early impression, getting behind the secondary twice down the sideline and catching a pair of deep touchdown passes.

•Another contender is the recently signed Chaz Schilens. He showed his potential to make a big play as well, hauling in a difficult over-the-shoulder grab down the left sideline with cornerback Ross Weaver in coverage.

•We saw a lot of the same faces running with the first units from earlier in the offseason. Ashlee Palmer worked at outside linebacker, Ron Bartell at cornerback, Don Carey at safety, while Willie Young and rookie Ezekiel Ansah split reps at defensive end.

On offense, Corey Hilliard and Dylan Gandy made up the right side of the offensive line.

•It wasn't the best day for Ansah. The first-round draft pick jumped offside twice and had to leave the field after his ankle was stepped on by a teammate. He tried to come back in, but was clearly struggling before being summoned back to the sidelines by the coaches.

•I don't want to get carried away with any talk about the trenches at this stage, because the team isn't wearing pads, but at one point Riley Reiff and Rob Sims opened up a massive lane for Reggie Bush during full-team drills.

•Defensive tackle Nick Fairley is in excellent shape. Sure, he had a typical moment where he jumped early on a snap, but he also blew up a pass play, crashing through the middle of the offensive line and forcing a terrible throw by quarterback Shaun Hill that should have been picked off by Chris Houston.

•The only interception on the day came when safety Glover Quin laid out and made a diving grab deep over the middle of the field on a misfired Matthew Stafford pass. Turnovers aren't Quin's forte, but it was an impressive individual effort.

•The corners did manage to get their hands on a number of other passes. Bill Bentley, playing mostly in the nickel spot, broke up two in a row by having perfect position on each play. He also made sure everyone knew about it, celebrating as each ball hit the ground.

•Two other injuries of note were Israel Idonije and Joesph Fauria. Idonije appeared to pull something on his side or possibly his hip. He was was seen stretching with a trainer after coming off the field, but seemed fine after practice.

Fauria landed hard on the ground after making a remarkable scoring catch down the seam over linebacker Stephen Tulloch. The rookie tight end stayed on the ground for a few minutes, but appeared to just have the wind knocked out of him.

•Position battles will go on for the next few weeks, but the punting job is clearly Sam Martin's to lose. The fifth-round draft pick appears to be getting more distance with greater consistency as the offseason has progressed.

•Receiver Michael Spurlock, who is a leading candidate for a kick return job, was a fairly popular receiving target on Friday. Running mostly short and intermediate routes from the slot, he often found himself open underneath the coverage and showed good hands throughout the session.

APThe early word out of Lions camp is that defensive tackles Ndamukong Suh and Nick Fairley look the best they’ve ever looked.

Lions coach Jim Schwartz said the whole team is in good shape, with everyone passing the conditioning test, but he pointed to Suh in particular as a player who made the test look like a joke, it was so easy for him.

“Ndamukong’s always been the guy that’s been in great shape, but I think he took it to a different level this year,” Schwartz said. “Quite honestly, he made a mockery of the conditioning test. He really did. Calvin [Johnson] does that every year, too. Calvin can run his times and barely even break a sweat, and I think that’s what those great athletes do. Ndamukong did that.”

Schwartz also had praise for Fairley, who lost weight during the time off between minicamp and training camp.

“I’ll tell you what, he’s really impressive from where he left here at the end of mini-camp to his report,” Schwartz said of Fairley. “You know people make TV shows about Extreme Makeover and stuff like that and I like where he is right now. He’s worked very hard in five weeks or six weeks whatever it was where he was gone and reported in great shape. His weight was done and he just needs to stay on that track. We’ve talked about how talented he his but it’s been more about availability thing with him rather than a talent thing. And it looks like he’s taken it very seriously. I’m proud of him for doing it.”

Fairley said in May that he considers himself and Suh the best defensive tackle pair in the league. They’re putting in the work to back up that talk.

Darius Slay found himself across the line of scrimmage from Calvin Johnson a number of times during a red zone 7-on-7 drill Monday.

The first time quarterback Matthew Stafford saw the one-on-one matchup he threw a fade route to Johnson that Slay was able to knock out of his hands at the last moment.

CB Darius SlayThe very next play, Johnson slipped inside Slay on a slant route for a touchdown.

That's life as an NFL corner and that's life as a Lions cornerback in practice going up against the best receiver in the game.

"I'm learning a lot from him," Slay said of covering Johnson in practice. "He's a big, aggressive receiver, so I have to get my hands on him."

Slay, who's been running with the first team defense opposite Chris Houston ever since Ron Bartell injured a shoulder Saturday, has been benefiting from the extra reps and the higher degree of difficulty going against the best receivers the Lions have.

"I love how he competes," Slay said of Johnson. "That's my goal, to compete every time, so I love going against him one-on-one. I'd like to go against him every day, if I could."

Houston has said for years that going against Johnson every day in practice has made him exponentially better. The same will apply to Slay.

A terrific basketball player in high school, Slay had some offers to play basketball in college, but chose football instead. Slay said he always guarded the best player on the other team because he loved the challenge of it.

"I've always been that type of player," he said. "I always want to play against the best for me to get better."

The combination of Houston, Slay and Bill Bentley (nickel) has been very good at cornerback so far for the Lions in camp. The moment doesn't look too big for Slay and Bentley has come back very strong in year two. It has some people optimistic about the Lions secondary early on.

"He's picked things up very quickly and he's matched up well against a lot of different types of receivers from the smaller guys to the Calvin Johnson's," head coach Jim Schwartz said of Slay.

"It seems like every day he breaks up a ball or gets his hands on a football. He's on the right path right now and we need to keep him there."

HIGH PRAISE

Stephen Tulloch spent two seasons in Tennessee with Javon Kearse in 2008 and 2009. Tulloch was just beginning his NFL career and Kearse was finishing up his, but Tulloch knew what type of player Kearse was when he first came into the league.

When asked Monday about Lions first-round pick Ezekiel "Ziggy" Ansah, Tulloch compared him to a young Kearse.

"Ziggy is a freak," Tulloch said. "He's a raw player but very instinctive. He can read screens very well. Runs to the ball very well. He's just a real good athlete. He reminds me of a young Javon Kearse when Jevon was back in Tennesee. (Kearse) could just fly around. You can tell (Ansah) needs some more work, but he's definitely a good pickup for us."

Kearse had 14.5, 11.5 and 10 sacks his first three seasons in the NFL. If Ansah is anywhere close to those numbers, the Lions hit that pick out of the park.

PRACTICE REPORT

Offensive guard Leroy Harris (ACL) came off the physically unable to perform list and took part in some individual drills at practice.

"It's exciting to get back out there, but the next step is building strength in the leg and getting it used to cutting and wrestling around with guys," Harris said.

The Lions were without cornerbacks Ron Bartell (shoulder) and Jonte Green (hamstring), who were scheduled to undergo MRIs.

Also sitting out Monday was defensive end Jason Jones (knee) and linebacker Carmen Messina (hamstring).

"With heavy practice yesterday, and having another pads practice tomorrow we gave him today," Schwartz said of Jones. "There's going to come a time where we gotta push through soreness and pain and things like that, but the fourth day of training camp is not that day. We figured if we give them the day, then maybe we can put that behind them and move on."

Chris Greenwood joined this group on the sideline for the second part of practice when his hamstring acted up.

"We've had some corners that have some hamstrings, which is something that happens," Schwartz said when asked about Green and Greenwood. "In today's practice we spent most of it in the red zone with an eye towards trying to limit the running of some of those guys. I don't know if anything's really more than a day-to-day situation right now."

Also sitting out for the Lions were safety Louis Delmas (knee), wide receiver Devin Thomas (PUP) and defensive end Ronnell Lewis (NFI).

VETERAN ADVICE

RB Steven MillerUndrafted rookie free agent Steven Miller is trying to catch on with the Lions and his best opportunity might be as a punt and kickoff returner.

So, what advice does veteran running back/returner Reggie Bush have for the young rookie?

"I told him, 'Don't drop the ball,'" Bush said, getting a big laugh from the media round him. "That's the biggest thing. When I was a rookie coming into this league, I struggled with catching punts a little bit here and there. It's tough.

"Those punters, they kick the ball a lot higher in this league. Guys are getting down the field a lot faster. I told him, 'The first thing you need to know is don't drop the ball. Everything comes natural after that.'"

Sounds like good advice.

NO RUSH

The Lions have great competitions brewing at a number of different positions on both sides of the football, but don't expect coaches to settle on any starters anytime soon.

"There are a lot of opportunities on our team," Schwartz said. "We're looking for people who can be reliable and dependable over a period of time, not the guys who flashed the quickest or make a play here or there. It's going to be through the preseason games and through our training camp practices."

The Lions are rotating different players in with the first-team units every day, especially at right tackle, right guard and linebacker. Schwartz wants consistency at those spots, so it seems more like a marathon than a sprint in determining the eventual starters.

It's more than the 12 pounds he packed on this offseason as he prepares to enter the 2013 campaign as the team's starting left tackle. It's the way he's carrying himself in the locker room and on the practice field. Reiff is exuding confidence.

"You'll see that pretty consistently from guys going from year one to year two," offensive line coach Jeremiah Washburn said. "When you're a rookie, you're the low man on the totem pole, especially in our room, which is full of vets. Just through the natural maturation process, he's certainly changed his demeanor."

Reiff's confidence on the field is translating into raw aggression. He's shown flashes of physical dominance, occasionally bullying Detroit's defensive ends. In the first week of training camp, he's put Willie Young and rookie Ezekiel Ansah on their backs during one-on-one drills.

"He was born nasty," Washburn said. "He hasn't changed that since the day he came in."

Guard Rob Sims, who lines up next to Reiff on the left side of the offensive line, agreed with his coach's assessment, but feels there's a reason the mean streak wasn't as evident last year.

"The thing about playing nasty, if your technique is not right, you don't really get to use it," Sims said. "Now that his technique is coming together, he's using it and hitting his landmarks right. If he gets you, it's going to be trouble."

Reiff is slated to replace long-time starter Jeff Backus as the Lions' blindside blocker. After three years as teammates, Sims publicly pleaded with Backus to return for another season before the veteran decided to retire. Despite the change, Sims is confident with his new arrangements.

"I'm completely comfortable," Sims said. "Of course I'll miss Jeff. We had a really good thing going on. But if I can't play with him, give me Riley Reiff."